(tense music)
(inaudible conversation)
(revving)
(upbeat music)
Robbie: I'm going to try and start it...
Diamond dave: Okay. Robbie: Alright, hold on here.
We got to get this thing on, there we go. Okay.
Diamond dave: Yeah? Robbie: Give it a little gas. A couple pumps.
Robbie: Alright, ready? Diamond dave: Yeah.
(engine sputters)
Robbie: Most people when they think about a go-kart,
They think about when you were a kid
And you took the lawn mower engine off
And you put it on a frame, and hooked the chain up to it, and pulled it.
It didn't have any brakes and off down the alley you went.
(engine sputters)
Robbie: Well, that's not these.
Mike: Urgh!
Robbie: My brother pulled these out of a garage in ohio.
Mike: Alright... Woo!
Mike: This is like, the ferrari of go-karts to me.
Mike: Wow!
Julie: My dad always souped them up,
So they could go faster.
Mike: These cars are from the gladiator
Time period of go-kart racing.
Robbie: Make sure the tanks on this one's clean,
'cause you get something in these carburetors,
These are all alcohol.
Diamond dave: Okay. Robbie: Look at that, pure alcohol.
(diamond dave laughs) robbie: Yeah.
Robbie: These things are speed demons.
Robbie: I need you to rebuild the clutch.
Diamond dave: Okay. Robbie: Make sure the brakes are working on this thing.
I mean, look at that, that looks like it's got an air bubble in it.
(diamond dave laughs) robbie: Seriously.
Robbie: I don't need anybody to get killed on these things.
Robbie: We're actually going to put these things
Back on the road, bring them back to life.
Robbie: I don't care what you got to do, just get it running.
Diamond dave: Okay. Robbie: Okay, dave? I'm putting my trust in ya.
Diamond dave: Oh geez, that's a lot of pressure.
Robbie: That's not a lot of pressure. It's a go-kart.
Diamond dave: So you know, murphy's law that something
That can go wrong will?
I mean, that's my daily life working.
If something's going to break,
It's going to break as soon as I'm done with it.
And I've something else on the back burner
That needs to be done too.
Robbie: At the end of the day,
It's about getting them running
'cause that's where the value is.
If it's running, then it's got value.
Diamond dave: Right, right, okay.
Diamond dave: When I get it done, I want these things to really run.
Diamond dave: What do you wanna do with them after that?
Robbie: I'm going to beat your ass out on the track with them, what do you mean?
Robbie: You take these things out and do donuts with them, are you kidding me?
Diamond dave: I love the intensity. Yeah.
I mean, I'm totally on board for this, this is what it's for.
Robbie: I'm going to be in the other shop working.
Let me know if you need a hand.
Diamond dave: You're going to be taking a nap.
Okay. Let me get on this.
Jersey jon: Dude, I'm glad you're coming to my neck of the woods.
This is awesome! Mike: Your neck of the woods?
Jersey jon: Yes. This is pennsylvania, bro!
Mike: You definitely have the accent,
But that fades as soon as you get
Into the pennsylvania dutch area.
You know, not everybody's talking like, they want to throw down.
(laughs)
(phone ringing)
Mike: Dani d, what's up? Jersey jon: What's up, girl?
Danielle: Jersey jon. Are you sitting down?
Jersey jon: What do you got? (chuckling)
Danielle: I'm going to send you to a guy named chip.
Since he was a child, chip has been absolutely in love with steel mills.
Mike: You're getting jersey excited.
Jersey jon: Dude, this sounds great, man.
Danielle: He's like a real heavy metal hero.
His entire life, he has been collecting foundry patterns.
Jersey jon: Oh yeah. It's right up my alley, dude.
Jersey jon: Foundry patterns are cool!
Danielle: It's not all for sale, right?
But there is a whole bunch of it that he wants to clear out.
Jersey jon: That sounds awesome.
Danielle: Okay jersey, now listen to me,
We are buying this specifically so that we can sell it
To collectors who love this stuff.
You're not going to build a clock tower out of all this stuff.
We need it for the shop. Mike: Alright, I'm on it.
Jersey jon: Woo. Danielle: Lift with the knees, not with the back.
Mike: Thank you! Jersey jon: Thank you!
Danielle: You got it. Bye.
Mike: Now I'm never going to be able to shut you up.
Jersey jon: Dude, I'm excited. This is going to be awesome.
I can hardly wait to get there. Woo-hoo!
Mike: When you think of pittsburgh,
You think of hard work, pride, and steel.
Mike: This is some of my favorite architecture right here, jersey.
Mike: Pittsburgh had the natural resources to become
The biggest steel city in the world.
It had everything from access to transportation
To the raw materials in the ground.
It had the coal to fire the furnaces,
The ore to make the product, and the limestone to clean the molten iron.
Mike: Okay, so we're coming up on it right here, jersey.
Jersey jon: Connelly trade school. Mike: Grab a flyer, would ya?
Jersey jon: This is cool, man. Woo!
Mike: Dude, this is killer.
Mike: This place reminds me of high school, dude.
Hello? Jersey jon: Hey.
Mike: Chip!
Jersey jon: Anything in there? Mike: Yo!
Jersey jon: Hey! Chip: Hey.
Jersey jon: How are ya? Chip: What's going on, guys?
Mike: What's going on? You chip? Jersey jon: How are ya?
Chip: I am. Mike: I'm mike, this is jersey jon.
Chip: Hey mike, how are ya? Mike: I'm doing well, my friend.
Chip: Nice to meet ya. Mike: Good to see ya.
Chip: I live a blessed beautiful life,
Because I love steel mills so much
That I almost feel like I'm some...
Professional athlete that plays baseball for a living.
I get to go to steel mills for a living,
And that's what I love to do.
Chip: This stuff's over 120 years old.
Jersey jon: Very cool! Mike: Wow.
Jersey jon: Look at this stuff, man.
Jersey jon: This room is filled with all these patterns,
And it just blows my mind to see this stuff!
Mike: I've seen pieces over the years...
But I never bought too much of it.
Mike: When I've come across a unique pattern,
I've always appreciated them for their beauty,
Their craftsmanship, and the trade itself.
Mike: See this almost looks like a top hat.
Jersey jon: Yeah. Chip: It does look like a top hat.
Mike: I mean, seriously. It does! It has that look to it.
Jersey jon: Wood patterns are a model of the part they're making.
Jersey jon: Old school pattern-making, man, it's a lost art.
These guys were masters at their craft.
Jersey jon: The magic really hasn't changed in foundry.
I mean, we're still taking an impression in sand
And pouring molten metal into it.
The pattern work might be changing, it's modernized.
Now those patterns are produced by computer-controlled machines.
Jersey jon: This crank, mike.
Mike: Oh wow, yeah, look at that.
Chip: Yeah, it's a crankshaft. Jersey jon: Yeah, a crankshaft.
Mike: Someone created this for a purpose.
Mike: This was like a railing or something, it probably made
A cast-iron railing of some sort?
Chip: I thought they were the front end of a truck, like the grille...
But I don't think that's what they are.
Jersey jon: Maybe they hooked together or something, mike?
Mike: Yeah. A couple more and we could put you in there.
(jersey jon laughs) mike: Oh, look at this, jersey.
Chip: It's the inside of a pipe, it's the valve...
Jersey jon: Oh-oh! No kidding! Mike: Oh, that's a massive valve.
Chip: Yes, that's a flap... Jersey jon: It's a flapper valve!
Mike: Don't scratch the coffee table. Jersey jon: It goes like that.
A flow valve for a big huge tube.
Mike: Okay, I know, I getcha.
Mike: Jersey and chip are looking
At the patterns and trying to imagine
What they were actually created for.
Mike: I look at this, I think okay, that would be
A great sink, know what I mean? Chip: I never would've thought of that.
Mike: I mean, it's in that shape.
Mike: What I'm trying to do is look at the pattern
And think, what it could be now.
Mike: Something like this, I mean, put some legs on it,
It's a foot stool. Jersey jon: Yeah.
Mike: I'm looking at it from a perspective that,
Probably most people are... Jersey jon: People are repurposing these things.
Mike: Repurposing stuff or simply art.
Mike: You know, that to me, that could be a table.
Put some legs on that and a piece of glass.
And then you've got a flat surface.
Jersey jon: And that's a train wheel.
Chip: Or hang it on the wall.
Mike: I'm interested in this stuff for more of its form
Instead of its function.
Chip: My dad was in the equipment business,
And my first steel mill my dad took me into,
I was about 10 years old. Mike: Okay.
Chip: I liked dinosaurs when I was a little kid...
So these mills reminded me of like a modern day dinosaur.
Jersey jon: Yeah. Chip: I would get in trouble taking this stuff home.
Mike: Oh, they were giving it to you back then?
Chip: No, no, I was taking it,
Like I'd go through garbage dumpsters and...
Jersey jon: It's cool stuff, right?
Chip: I risked like, getting my ass kicked,
Literally, by bringing this stuff home.
The wrath of my dad was brutal.
To risk that just for a collection
Has got to be pretty powerful.
Mike: For the people that worked in the plant,
These were just tools of the trade.
For a young child, they were treasures,
They were handmade, and they were part
Of the process of that big show
That he was seeing in every mill.
Chip: You know, I outgrew the garage.
It ended up in the attic, and you know, my mom
Started getting pissed off that this stuff was all around.
So by the time I was about 23,
I bought a building... Mike: Yeah?
Chip: An old steel mill and started putting it,
The collection in there. Jersey jon: Wow.
Mike: 'cause you had so much of it.
Chip: I had so much stuff. That space turned into something else,
And I had to move it again. That's why I called you guys.
I don't want to move a lot of this stuff again.
Mike: Yeah. Chip: I have so much of it,
I think it'd be time to share it with somebody that...
Jersey jon: And we're all getting older.
Chip: ...Has the same passion.
Chip: The selling of some of these pieces,
I look at it as sharing them.
Not that I'm selling them
Because I'm trying to get rid of them.
Mike: What about this piece right here? What would this have been?
'cause to me, obviously, it looks like a wall shelf.
Chip: It looks like it could be a machinery base.
Jersey jon: Or a surface plate. Chip: Could be.
Mike: Chip loves this stuff from a standpoint of like,
Why it was created, the origin of it.
Mike: How old is this? Chip: About 120 years.
Mike: I'm just trying to loosen him up around the idea,
Maybe its new life
Isn't going to be the same life that it has now.
Mike: So what do you value something like that at?
Chip: I would say that piece has got to be
Worth at least $800.
Mike: Really. Chip: Yeah.
Make me an offer. Mike: I-I mean... It's cool.
Jersey jon: It's great 'cause you can display stuff in there... And cast iron.
Chip: It would be a cool wall shelf.
Jersey jon: Yep, that make sense.
Mike: 500 bucks.
Chip: Being that I never sold a piece of my collection before,
And I have had offers on it...
Chip: I... You know, I really didn't want to sell it.
Chip: You know how much it... You know how much it costs
To move this stuff? I mean, 500, come on...
Mike: Hey, I feel like I'm in the moving business sometimes, let me tell ya.
Jersey jon: Yeah. That's true. Mike: You know what I'm saying.
Chip: Um...
To me, they've been priceless, but...
Since they seemed really sincere
On being interested in my collection...
I never really looked at that piece to put bookshelves on it,
You know, and there was like, 8 or 10 more pieces just like it.
So uh...
Chip: Yeah, I guess. I mean, I guess I'll let it go for 5...
Mike: Alright. Jersey jon: Thank you, bro.
Chip: Thank you. Mike: Hey man, thank you.
Jersey jon: That's good. That's a good piece.
Mike: I'm going to sell this to somebody
That appreciates art,
Because of the way it's made,
And the industry that it's from.
Mike: What about something like this, what's going on with this?
Chip: An old blueprint table,
Back from the turn-of-the-century.
Mike: 300 bucks. Chip: You got it.
Mike: Alright, cool. What we do is,
Change the top and put a motorcycle engine on it.
Chip: Oh wow. Jersey jon: Yeah, they make great motor stands.
Mike: Yeah. Jersey jon: Yeah.
Mike: Chip is fascinated by this stuff
Because he's been around it since he was a kid.
Mike: What do you think these were actually a pattern for?
Chip: They're a part in a steel mill somewhere.
Mike: Okay.
Mike: And he's never lost
That childlike fascination to any of this stuff.
Jersey jon: I like this crankshaft.
Chip: Probably for like a giant air compressor.
Jersey jon: Yeah, it's huge. You could see, like, the reciprocating motion.
Mike: You can actually see what it is.
Jersey jon: Right. This crankshaft is a perfect example
Of a visually appealing piece of pattern work.
Jersey jon: Is this something you want to sell?
(laughs)
Chip: Not really. Jersey jon: No? Come on, dude.
Mike: It is pretty cool.
Jersey jon: 300 bucks.
Chip: I- I really don't want to sell those.
Jersey jon: Yeah? I mean... (sighs)
Chip: The piece is a one-of-a-kind.
I've never seen one like it.
It's fully intact, it's got both halves.
I just like the piece.
Jersey jon: What's the I-don't-want-to-sell-it price?
Chip: Well, those pieces are pretty special to me, so...
The workmanship that went into it.
That was probably one of the first pieces that I've collected.
Jersey jon: Yeah. Mike: Oh wow.
Chip: I don't have a duplicate of that piece either.
Jersey jon: Yeah. Chip: I really don't want to part with it,
'cause I don't have another of them.
Jersey jon: Alright, so this is not for sale.
Chip: I don't really want to sell that piece.
Jersey jon: Alright, bro.
Jersey jon: Patterns, they have unlimited life,
Okay, you could use a pattern over and over again,
While that machine is in production.
Mike: What about these right here?
Jersey jon: But once that machine goes out
Of production, that pattern is put aside in storage,
You don't need it anymore.
That's what these things are.
These are all those patterns that are leftover
From past production.
They're the ghosts of industry.
Mike: I'm thinking coffee table.
Mike: That's the way my customer is going to look at it.
Jersey jon: I'm looking at this piece over here, chip.
It's like an old wooden pulley pattern.
Mike: They're either going to look at it and appreciate it
For the shape and the color and what it is right now...
Mike: Oh, it's got dots!
Mike: Or... They're going to look at it as like,
What can I do with that? How can I make that my own?
Mike: You could knock these off, and then obviously then,
You can put it up against the wall.
Jersey jon: Yeah, that's a great look, mike.
Mike: Walking through here and seeing so much of this stuff,
Oh man, I mean, my mind is just clicking, I mean,
It's just firing left and right,
And it's hard to focus.
Mike: What I like about a big coffee table
Is the coffee table book.
And what I like about the coffee table book is...
It's just pictures, man. Jersey jon: He doesn't read much, man.
Mike: You know what I mean? Jersey jon: You know, industrial decorating is like,
Man, it's just a norm now, everybody's like doing it in their restaurants,
In their bars, in their homes.
Jersey jon: Is this something you want to sell?
Chip: Yeah, I really don't want to sell that.
Chip: I- I buy (bleep) all the time, but I don't resell it.
Mike: This guy is like the godfather of the steel industry.
Chip: You like that piece? Jersey jon: I like it, yeah.
Mike: Chip is on the fence whether or not he wants to sell
Any of this stuff because he loves it so much.
Chip: Yeah, I'm kind of attached to just about
Every one of these. Jersey jon: Of course.
Mike: Yeah, he loves the steel industry,
He's been in it since he was a little kid,
But I mean, the bottom line is,
He's collecting shapes.
Mike: That's probably pricey, 'cause of the shape and stuff.
Mike: Whether it's tall or it's round
Or it's flat or it's octagon-shaped.
Mike: An elephant could stand on this.
Chip: I was thinking something else, but...
Mike: Yes, it built something,
Yes it forged something, yes it's amazing, it's old.
But at the end of the day, it's like, it's shapes, man.
Mike: 200 bucks. 600 bucks.
Jersey jon: 125 bucks. Chip: What?
Jersey jon: Yeah. Chip: 125 bucks?!
Jersey jon: Yeah. Chip: You know, look,
This stuff weighs you down sometimes.
(laughs)
There's a point where you can only collect so much.
Chip: 200.
Jersey jon: Eh...
It's not... It's not quite 200 nice,
I'm thinking 150 nice.
Chip: How about 7?
Mike: It seems like every single deal, you know,
He's back on his heels a little bit,
We're going back and forth on price.
And then he just, he leans into it and says, okay.
Chip: Okay. I'll do the... Jersey jon: Good deal, chip.
Chip: I'll do 200. Chip: Alright, 150.
Jersey jon: 150? Chip: Yeah, I'll do it.
Jersey jon: Thank you, brother. Mike: Alright, cool.
I'm doing it. I love it. Jersey jon: Thanks, bro.
Mike: I think it's great. Jersey jon: That's great.
Jersey jon: What makes our industry run, the antique industry,
Is the passion, man. We are very passionate about people,
We love what we're buying,
We love the people we're involved with.
It's a deep down obsession that we have to preserve.
And we're drawn together like magnets.
Jersey jon: Ooh... This is kind of interesting.
I mean, that's a great one.
Mike: What is it? Chip: Well, it...
Jersey jon: I like the steam train in there.
Chip: That's a torpedo car. Jersey jon: It's really a weird boiler...?
Chip: No, no, it's a thermos car.
It's lined with refractory brick,
And when they're making the iron ore...
See, that's a blast furnace right behind it.
Jersey jon: Yeah? Chip: So when the blast furnace taps,
It pours the molten iron ore into that.
Jersey jon: In here? Chip: Into that car,
And then that car gets transferred over
To the basic oxygen furnace.
And that iron ore's poured into the bof.
Mike: Yeah. Chip: And that's when they start dumping scrap into it.
They used that for the base. Jersey jon: That's crazy.
So, this is all full of molten iron.
Chip: Molten iron.
Jersey jon: So that's 2,600 degrees or whatever.
Jersey jon: They're carrying molten iron on this steam train, it's crazy!
Jersey jon: I've never seen anything like that before.
Jersey jon: That's so crazy. It's so specific to this area.
You want to sell this thing? Chip: Not that one.
Chip: I mean, I can't explain a lot of the, just,
Attachment that I have for some of these things.
Chip: First steel mill in the united states.
Jersey jon: And you don't want to sell this.
Chip: I don't want to sell that one, no.
Jersey jon: This is the second piece he's turned me,
Shot me down on, man. But obviously,
It's close to his heart, and I could see why.
Jersey jon: Look at this, mike. Mike: Uh-huh.
Jersey jon: That's cool. 1925.
Jersey jon: It's kind of dark and it's got a little bit of color in there.
Some artist really captured
The ghostly spirit of a steel mill.
Jersey jon: What about this?
Chip: Um...
(mike laughs)
Mike: I've never met anybody that loves steel like you do, dude.
Jersey jon: No, me neither. Chip: No, I'm like a little crazy.
Jersey jon: It's great, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jersey jon: You're fortunate enough to grow up around
The steel mill, man, like you're like, living the dream.
Chip: Every day. (laughs)
Jersey jon: Yeah. Chip: I mean, really,
People think that steel mills don't even exist anymore.
But they are making steel every day.
But it's not what it used to be. Jersey jon: Yeah.
Chip: 65% of the world's steel is not even made here anymore.
Jersey jon: Yeah. I get it.
Chip: United states still makes, I believe, the best.
Jersey jon: Oh absolutely, man. Oh yeah.
And it will come back. We've got to keep it going,
We got to get it back to america.
We got to get it back to the united states producing steel.
Mike: That's right. I love listening to you two talk,
Because I've been listening to him for 30 years...
(laughs) ...About him making his patterns...
Jersey jon: Alloys and talk about steel.
Mike: ...And his alloys and, "they poured this too cold!"
And all of a sudden now, it's like you know,
He's got somebody to talk to about it.
Jersey jon: Yeah. You're talking my language, bro.
Chip: Yeah well. Jersey jon: I still do foundry work.
I do it right in my parking lot, man.
I'm casting bronze and aluminum, I'm making motorcycle parts,
I'm making carburetors.
Jersey jon: I still make wood patterns in my shop,
Because I have the time to do it.
I have the skills to do it, I have the machinery to do it.
And the knowledge.
Mike: Yeah, he's literally over there...
Jersey jon: Yeah, like pouring a 45-pound...
Chip: That's unbelievable. Jersey jon: ...Bronze crucibles into sand molds.
The same way they do it here. Chip: That's unbelievable.
That's like they do in cuba. They're doing...
(group laughing)
Jersey jon: Yeah, I mean, that's why I like this picture.
It hits me right in my soul, man.
Dude, 150 bucks.
Chip: You're killing me. 100...
(laughs)
Chip: 100... (laughs)
Like, I don't even want to sell that piece.
Jersey jon: Well I mean, really, what's it worth? What do you think?
Chip: I can't even put a price on it,
But it's one of those pieces that I didn't want to get rid of.
But I mean...
I don't meet too many people that have the same passion that I do,
So... Um...
Chip: That was probably one of my favorite pieces I've collected.
But when he talked about how he makes the parts
In his backyard
And that particular picture
Is going to remind him of pittsburgh where I'm from.
Chip: I mean, this is going
Into your own personal collection?
Jersey jon: Yeah. I'll hang it on my wall in the bank.
Chip: Really? Jersey jon: Yeah.
Chip: Alright, I'll sell it to you.
Jersey jon: Come on down, check it out.
Jersey jon: We could pour bronze together.
Mike: He's in jersey, man. Jersey jon: Come on down!
I'll take you out for a friggin' lobster dinner.
Chip: I'd like that. (laughs)
Mike: Alright. Woo!
Jersey jon: Thanks, brother. That's cool. Alright.
Chip: I felt good about selling it to him.
Jersey jon: I'd love to buy this book, dude. Non-technical chats
On iron and steel, they're talking about to the layman
How the iron and steel industry was put together,
Which is kind of cool.
Jersey jon: It's like a really simple way of explaining
Iron and steel production in pittsburgh.
Jersey jon: It's not a real technical book.
It's in layman's terms.
Jersey jon: Every author has his own perspective
On an art or a skill.
I want to combine whatever authors have got to offer to me,
And put them in my work.
Chip: Alright.
Jersey jon: You know, what do you think?
Chip: I don't know, what do you think? 50 bucks?
Make an offer.
Jersey jon: I'm thinking more, I'm more like 30 bucks, dude.
Chip: You got it. Jersey jon: Yeah?
Chip: 30 bucks. Jersey jon: Awesome, man, thank you so much.
Chip: Absolutely. Jersey jon: Alright.
Chip: I would have taken 20, but...
(group laughing)
Chip: Here's the big gallery,
This is the gymnasium gallery here, so...
Mike: Wow. Holy crap.
Jersey jon: Look at this place.
Mike: All of these pieces were created for a purpose.
But when you walk into this like, gymnasium,
And everything is in this beautiful gallery setting,
It's being elevated into art.
Mike: You guys are painting on stuff. Hey!
Corey: Hey, guys. Jersey jon: Hey.
Chip: This is corey, my business partner.
Mike: Is this your work? Corey: Yeah.
Jersey jon: They're not small little pieces.
These things are gigantic.
It's like big crucible molds,
And he's like putting his art on it.
It's amazing what he's doing.
Mike: Hey, I'm mike. Corey: Hi, mike, nice to meet you.
Jersey jon: Jersey, how are you? Nice to meet you.
This place is outrageous.
Corey: This is my impractical playground here.
Mike: This is insane. Yeah, this is a big playground.
Corey: You don't have to be an art connoisseur
When you look at something that has taken
Thousands of hours to construct.
And you can see the skill that's in just the patterns,
You know, forget about the artwork,
What these guys created are works of art.
Corey: Every single one of these patterns are just magnificent.
Corey: These are patterns for giant slag pots.
So imagine this is one section.
Jersey jon: It's a slag pot. Mike: Oh wow!
Corey: Growing up, I was around mills all the time.
Just living in pittsburgh, you drive past them to go everywhere.
The imagery stuck with me.
Corey: I wanted to create something that showed
The scale of the steel mill.
Mike: Yeah, yeah. Corey: So that it had that power.
I mean, it's not the same,
There's nothing like going into a mill.
Corey: But these guys were working with, you know,
Forces that were... It's like mini volcanoes, right?
Corey: Every day they're going in working with this.
Jersey jon: 3,000 degrees. Chip & corey: Yes.
Jersey jon: The steel industry creates all these things
That we take for granted. Every bridge, every car,
Every tractor, every truck, man,
There's a casting there, made by these steel foundries.
Corey is like celebrating the gravity
Of the importance of that.
Mike: What you're doing is bringing a voice
To the history of the industry.
In a different way that can appeal to everybody.
When you walk in and you can see this...
Jersey jon: Yeah. Mike: That's a beautiful thing.
Mike: I think about how many hands
Are on one of these pieces.
Corey: I leave the back so the sculpture's raw.
Jersey jon: Yeah, it's still dirty and everything.
Mike: From the point of like inception,
The idea of what the mold was,
The drawing of the mold, the making of the mold,
What the mold made itself; and now,
Them taking it and putting it into like a gallery setting
Where everything is curated and beautiful.
It's pretty incredible.
Mike: I love this. I mean, this is incredible.
Corey: Yeah, the chandeliers... Mike: Yeah, the chandeliers
Are incredible, they really are.
Corey: There is something that is imbued
In those objects that kind of transcends time.
They are these portals into the past,
Into these stories.
Chip: Now there's not just one person
People think is crazy, now there's two.
Mike: It's amazing, it's a god thing,
That these guys found each other.
Mike: What about some of this stuff?
Chip: Yeah, we can let some of this stuff go.
Mike: This is neat.
Mike: What I'm looking at now,
Is just the creation itself,
And how can we move that forward?
Mike: You know what I'm thinking on that.
Motorcycle engine stand.
(laughs)
Chip: Everything you said is a motorcycle--
Mike: I know!
If you're going to have
A 1913 harley twin engine,
You got to have something old to put it on, you know?
Mike: One industry meets the other.
It's kind of cool.
I've got guys that will actually build like, cast-irons cradles.
I don't know, I just feel like it has more value if you can use it.
Chip: How much? Mike: I mean, I like the writing on it,
I like the old black paint. I mean, this thing, this is early.
This can be like 100 years old, maybe.
Chip: Definitely 100 years.
Mike: Really. Chip: Like 110.
Mike: No kiddin'. Chip: Yeah.
Mike: 500 bucks.
Chip: Absolutely, I'll sell it to you for 500.
Mike: Okay, I'll do it. I like it.
Mike: I'm glad he's gotten to the point
Where some of my crazy ideas for these things, you know,
He's taking that in, he's absorbing it.
But you know, he also really appreciates and loves
What each of these pieces meant to build america.
Mike: This is an art that's grown right here in steel city.
Corey: Every part of it. We have edgar thompson plant,
Where the guys were making mostly rails for the railroads.
Mike: This country has and always will be built
On the skill of our labor.
Chip: This is the first mill that was created by carnegie
In the united states, so it's got a lot of history.
Jersey jon: Carnegie, man.
He's the guy that built this area.
Jersey jon: You want to talk about the michael jordan
Of industry? Andrew carnegie.
A scottish immigrant who comes over here with nothing,
And builds this multi-million-dollar
Steel industry, right in pittsburgh.
Jersey jon: And then j.P. Morgan bought him out.
Mike: It's neat that this stuff is on display
In a building where they used to teach the trades.
Corey: Right.
Mike: The temperament of trade schools in america
Has changed dramatically over the years.
When I grew up and when I was in high school,
I took auto shop, I took small engines class,
I took machine shop.
Those classes were offered.
And over time, a lot of that stuff has faded away,
But now, thank god there's a resurgence
Of so much of it.
Jersey jon: This is all like, the drawings that make the patterns, right?
Corey: Yes. So a lot of them are for the individual patterns.
But there's a bunch that are the plans
On how to build a steel mill.
Jersey jon: There's two different kinds of blueprints
On this table. There's mechanical drawings
For patterns, and there's blueprints for a mill,
Like how to put a whole steel mill together.
Corey: 1917.
Jersey jon: Look how gorgeous this is.
This is like hand-drawn by a draftsman.
Corey: No cad, no computer-aided drafting.
Jersey jon: And the line, the quality of the line, the work.
I mean, you're an artist, dude, you know what it takes
To do something like this.
Corey: I draw stuff every day.
To look at the technical drawings that were all done
By hand at a draftsman's table, with a pencil,
And the precision and exactness
That had to be executed in that is just mind-boggling.
Jersey jon: Is this something you would consider selling at all?
Corey: These ones that you pulled out,
And a lot of the ones on the table here
Are connected to this collection.
But there are some in here
That aren't related to the parts that we have.
If you get down to the blue stuff.
Jersey jon: These are the blueprints
That you would part with, is what you're saying. Corey: Yeah.
Jersey jon: These are the copies.
Corey: These ones are from a totally different collection.
Jersey jon: What I'm offered for sale here by corey
Is not the original drawing.
He's offering me the blueprint,
Which is a copy of the drawing.
Jersey jon: I mean, you got 13 prints here,
They're interesting, but they're blueprints,
And then not only that, I've got to frame these things somehow,
I got to put them on, you know, a piece of hardboard,
You know like, I got to shrink-wrap them.
You know the deal, dude. Corey: Yeah, there's work in it.
Jersey jon: For the 13 here, I'm thinking like 125 bucks.
Corey: Uh...
Jersey jon: It's blue, it's paper,
And it's just a copy of the original.
It doesn't really have the same value
As a handmade drawing on vellum.
An original part from the foundry.
Corey: How about 150?
Jersey jon: Um...
Corey: I know you got to frame them,
But you're not going to find anything like them.
Jersey jon: No, that's true. Corey: It's true steel industry.
Jersey jon: Tell you what, I love 'em
Because they're from pittsburgh, I love being here, man.
Corey: Well, I'm just happy to share them. Yeah.
Jersey jon: I'm in it, bro. Thank you so much.
I really appreciate it. This is fantastic.
Corey: When you see someone who loves and appreciates
This stuff as much as you do,
Even with the idea of framing
And everything like that, they're valuable.
They're pieces of history.
But jon is going to do something great with them.
Mike: That's interesting.
Alright, I'm going to walk it out here.
Here we, look at that,
And then it's got this oxblood red paint on it.
Chip: Let's see how heavy it is, pick that--
Mike: Yeah... That's not too bad.
Mike: Whoever's going to look at this,
They're going to like it for the lines, the color.
Mike: That oxblood red would really clean up a lot.
I don't know if I'd get it that bright,
But it would definitely get brighter than this.
And then you've got the black.
Mike: This could be a bookshelf, it could be a coffee table,
This could be a table pedestal.
Mike: You could lay it on its side, you could have it,
I mean, to me I like the way it looks this way.
You know, there's a lot going on.
Mike: I really like the geometry of the piece.
That's what's getting me, you know what I'm saying?
What are you thinking on that?
Chip: 5, 600.
Mike: Yeah, I...
I couldn't do that.
300 bucks.
Chip: 350.
Mike: Alright, you guys have been awesome, man.
Mike: What I really love about
What these guys are doing is,
They're introducing an industry
That is age-old, in a new way.
Mike: Alright, here we go.
Mike: So a lot of younger people coming into the gallery,
They're learning about their community
And their city's history in a completely different way.
And maybe that will inspire them to work with their hands.
Mike: Alright, ho-ho. Chip: I grabbed the heavy piece.
Mike: This is one of my favorite things
That I got right here, I love that.
Jersey jon: It's so important that guys like chip and corey
Are doing things like this, because it pays homage
To our industrial heritage.
And hopefully we're going to bring that back again in this country.
Mike: Hey, I love what you guys are doing here.
Corey: Thanks. Mike: Seriously, I love what you guys are doing.
Mike: And you know what, you guys got great energy,
I love the way you're living.
Chip: What fun is it to have
All this passion by myself?
Chip: See you guys. Mike: See you down the road.
Chip: Safe travels. Mike: Come on, joisey!
Chip: The fun is to see guys like them come in,
And show the same kind of interest, the same passion.
I mean, I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
(honks horn) jersey jon: Take care, guys!
Corey: See ya. Chip: See you guys.
(birds chirping)
Mike: Look at these guys, they're working on the karts.
Jersey jon: Awesome!
Mike: Look at the karts right there!
Jersey jon: Hey, hey, hey! (excited shouting)
(revving)
Yeah, cut it! Cut it, dude! Cut it!
Mike: To hear them running, god, they sound mean!
(revving)
Jersey jon: Cut it!
Mike: Dave! Diamond dave: Hahaha! What's up?
Mike: Dave, you are the magic man!
Jersey jon: What's up, bro? Robbie: What's going on, man?
Diamond dave: Give me enough time, I'll get it going.
Mike: When I bought these go-karts out of ohio a few years ago,
I had big plans for them, man. I had big dreams.
(laughs) you know, and then diamond dave
Said, "I can fix these!"
And that was two years ago.
Two years ago.
So, it's like, that's been more of a nightmare.
Diamond dave: I mean, I tried to make your dreams--
Jersey jon: Why do you not realize I got dreams, dave?
Diamond dave: I try to make your dreams come true, every day!
Jersey jon: You should be on the same team!
Mike: Dave, you dream maker, you. You dream maker.
Was this one running too?
Robbie: Oh heck yeah, that one's running too.
Mike: Diamond dave wears a lot of hats around here.
Now he can add to his resume the 2-stroke tamer.
Robbie: We were just about ready to take them around the block.
Mike: Before you get arrested,
I know a guy in dixon
That has a friend that's kid has a track.
Jersey jon: Yeah!
Mike: My cousin's hairdresser's kid owns a track.
Mike: I'll call the guy right now, and I'll line it up.
Diamond dave: Dude, I'm totally down.
Mike: Okay, you guys do your stuff there.
Jersey jon: So what did you have to do to this thing, man?
Diamond dave: Oh man, everything.
(overlapping chatter)
Robbie: Dude, the motor's completely rebuilt.
Robbie: It's no surprise that it took dave a year-and-a-half
To put these go-karts back together.
These parts are not stuff that you find
Sitting on a shelf in a hardware store.
Mike: The track is closed, which is perfect for us.
Mike: He said we can run these.
Robbie: It's kind of like an old motorcycle.
You don't just go to the harley dealer and say,
"hey, man, you got 1936 knuckle top end?"
These parts have to be found.
Diamond dave: You got it? Jersey jon: Yeah.
Mike: Well, move it over here, get over here!
Robbie: God, jersey, what's the matter with ya?
Mike: Everybody's yelling at each other,
And we haven't even got the go-kart in the van yet.
(laughs)
Mike: We're going to follow you guys in the impala.
All: Alright.
Diamond dave: Sounds good, man.
Mike: Alright, come on, jersey, let's kick some butt!
Jersey jon: Robbie, you got no...
Robbie: Losing!
Jersey jon: No chance, zero! Robbie: Loser!
Jersey jon: Loser!
Robbie: You're done, baby.
Jersey jon: Sergeant rock-head, he ain't going to win, man,
First off, look at the size of the dude, man,
Just the weight alone, man, is going to slow him down.
You know, I'm like, slim and trim.
I'm going fast, I'm going to cut the turns,
I'm going to win this race.
Robbie: My brother's very competitive.
Diamond dave: I know. Robbie: My question to you is...
Diamond dave: Yeah. Mike: We're going to smoke robbie's ass, dude.
Jersey jon: Yeah. Robbie ain't nothing, man.
Mike: Alright, yeah. Robbie: Give me the skinny,
I mean, which one's got the better tires?
One is laid down, one's standing up.
I mean, is the wind going to cause a problem?
Robbie: I mean, I need to know all this.
Mike: He's my little brother.
Jersey jon: Yeah, exactly, little.
Mike: I gotta keep that in perspective.
Diamond dave: You're so low,
Wind is not going to be a problem. But these things
Are probably scary fast for you--
Robbie: No go-kart going to scare me.
Diamond dave: You're gonna be four inches off the ground...
Robbie: That's even better. Diamond dave: ...Going 70 miles-an-hour.
Mike: He wants me, like subliminally,
He wants me to go out there
And show him how to drive a go-kart.
Jersey jon: I think you could do it.
Diamond dave: You are going to be going fast.
Robbie: Dude, low and to the ground is the key.
Mike: He wants me to lead him through life. He just forgot that.
Mike: He's going to be reminded of that today.
Diamond dave: They're both wicked fast.
So it's going to come down to who's a better driver.
You or me; you or mike.
(suspenseful music)
Mike: Alright. He left the gate open. Killer.
Jersey jon: Cool.
Robbie: Most guys that are into
The nascar scene right now,
They started in the go-karts.
Mike: Alright, don't scratch this one,
This one's mine. Jersey jon: Get out of the way!
Robbie: Grab this side. Mike: This one's mine here.
(overlapping chatter) robbie: You freaking' mongrel.
Robbie: We're talking about kids that were six, seven,
Eight, nine, ten years old.
Mike: Put it over here, alright, down it goes, alright.
Put it over here. Diamond dave: Wow.
Robbie: Man, if you were a kid in the '60s,
Imagine your dad bringing this ralph manza home.
Going, "hey, be careful."
It's a lay-down luge, man.
Robbie: Alright. Okay, set her down.
Okay.
Robbie: Alright, so it's you and I first up.
Mike: Alright.
Mike: We're settling the biggest score first.
And that is me versus my brother, robbie.
Mike: I'm more aerodynamic than you.
Robbie: I don't care, you're gonna lay down on that thing.
(laughs) three laps.
Mike: Okay. Robbie: Winner take all.
Mike: Alright. Jersey jon: Single elimination.
Diamond dave: Yep. Mike: Three laps,
Single elimination.
This is like gangs of new york-style racing. (laughs)
Jersey jon: Then me and dave come in.
Diamond dave: Right. Jersey jon: Right?
Mike: Then it's jersey versus dave.
And then, whoever wins those two heats, goes at it.
Bare-knuckle style.
Jersey jon: Let's do it, man. Where's your starter?
Robbie: Right there, it's in the back. Grab that.
Jersey jon: Alright, I'll grab the starter.
Diamond dave: When I was a kid and I had a really cool toy
That I had gotten for christmas...
Jersey jon: Come on, you're losing already, bro.
Diamond dave: ...And I had some cousins that were a little rough come over,
I hid those toys so they didn't get broken.
After spending a year-and-a-half working on these karts,
It's kind of the first people I want to ride them
Are not robbie and mike wolfe.
Mike: I'll be going around like this.
Diamond dave: These guys are as shy as a sherman tank.
And I really wanted these things to run for a while.
Jersey jon: Ready, robbie? Robbie: Yeah, I'm ready.
Jersey jon: Hang on, bro. Robbie: Give it a little gas. Come on!
(engine starts)
Robbie: Something about a two-stroke motor.
When you hear that thing start up for the first time,
You want to get on it and ride it.
Jersey jon: This is not your kid's go-kart.
This is not the go-kart you'll find in an amusement park.
This is like, full-blown professional karting.
Mike: Get it, jersey!
Robbie: Shake-and-bake!
Diamond dave: Hold on, hold on.
Robbie: These things are dangerous.
I mean, you hit 6,000 rpms,
It's jerking your head back.
I mean, you better hold on to your... Boop!
Robbie: Hits the ground.
Diamond dave: When it hits the ground, ready? Ready?
(revving)
(tense music)
Jersey jon: Ready, robbie? Robbie: Yeah, I'm ready.
Jersey jon: Hang on, bro. Robbie: Give it a little gas.
(engine starts)
Mike: Get it, jersey!
Mike: The guy that owned these originally and raced them was a madman.
And he was a winner. And he dressed to impress.
Alright, I'm going to make him proud.
Robbie: Hits the ground.
Diamond dave: When it hits the ground, ready? Ready?
Mike: Robbie and I have been competitive out of the gate, man.
I mean, we're obviously fast swimmers,
You know what I mean, we're here, right?
Diamond dave: As I'm watching them tear down the track,
I could tell that they don't think there's brakes,
Because they never touch them.
And they're trying to kill each other;
They're trying to kill the car.
Jersey jon: Come on, mike!
Diamond dave: Oh no, the corner, the corner!
Oh he's got the inside.
Robbie: Oh, he was ahead, it's only the first lap.
I had my maneuver, the high bank,
Come in, pass on the inside.
Bam!
Diamond dave: They're gonna burn up before we get to drive.
(laughs) jersey jon: I know, I know. Diamond dave: That's alright.
Jersey jon: Mike's smoking him, though.
Diamond dave: That's two laps.
Diamond dave: Right, this third? Jersey jon: Yeah.
Diamond dave: Oh my god, robbie's going to do it.
Jersey jon: Oh, robbie got it!
(revving)
(excited shouting, cheering)
Jersey jon: Dude! Dude! Mike: Woo!
Diamond dave: You won, you won, you won!
Mike: Did I win? I won, right? Robbie: No, I won!
Mike: How did you win? I got you on the corner!
Diamond dave: Three laps! He won!
Mike: Who the hell said that?!
Diamond dave: We said that in the beginning!
What do you mean? Over there by van!
Mike: I never heard that!
Jersey jon: Mike won on the second lap.
Mike thought he won at the second lap.
So he's like already celebrating and robbie passed him.
But he had one more lap to go.
Mike: Ugh! Argh!
(laughs)
Mike: Dude! I took you, I took you so hard!
Robbie: My brother has... (laughs)
My brother has a problem with two things:
Paying attention and counting.
Mike: I thought it was the last lap! (bleep)!
Mike: Oh my gosh, from now until the day that I meet my maker,
"you can't count to three, man!"
"remember when you thought you were at number three,
And you were number two? And nagh!"
(deep grunting) "three!"
Mike: I can't believe you won!
Mike: Not a lot of people know this,
But my brother slept in one of those little race car beds
Until he was 23.
Mike: Look it, my muffler fell off!
Dude, this thing was screaming. This was in my ear.
Laying down, this was blasting in my ear, bro.
(group laughing) jersey jon: Man. Robbie: Is it hot?
Diamond dave: Oh my god. Jersey jon: Careful, it's hot!
Diamond dave: Here, put that back in there.
Robbie: Put it in there. Jersey jon: There you go.
Robbie: That was, screw that on there.
Robbie: Yeah, that's it, we're ready.
Mike: Here you go, jersey. Jersey jon: Ready to rock!
Mike: So I'm out! Robbie: You're out.
Mike: I'm just... (heavy sigh)
I messed up.
Mike: Listen, you're our only hope, you're our only hope.
Jersey jon: Don't worry about it, I'll take it home.
(laughs) diamond dave: I'm not even worried.
Jersey jon: Now it's me and dave. So we're racing.
Jersey jon: Ready? Diamond dave: Ready? One, two, three, shoot.
Ah... Robbie: You won.
Diamond dave: I think the fast one.
Mike: Alright, jersey. It's-- hey...
Robbie: You think that dave has the advantage
'cause he's been working on these things for a year-and-a-half.
You forgot, jersey's insane.
Mike: Alright, make me proud. Jersey jon: I'll make you proud, bro.
Mike: Make us proud. Jersey jon: Dave, he doesn't
Even know what he's doing, man. He's been running around
This track, he's going to be like going into the walls.
I could feel it in my bones that I'm going to win this race.
Robbie: Alright, jersey, I'm going to start you up first, baby.
(engine starts)
Diamond dave: This car was so fast and so cool.
Mike: Jersey looks like he's sitting on a bar stool.
Robbie: That thing's bad, wow!
Diamond dave: But I was kind of nervous 'cause jersey's competitive.
(laughs) mike: Jersey's gonna-- robbie: Holy toledo!
Mike: Jersey's going to crash, man, he's nuts!
Jersey's nuts, no, don't tell him to slow down.
Mike: Jersey jon will fight you for the salt and pepper shaker.
I mean, the guy's like...
Jersey jon: That's the way you win races, man.
You got to take chances, and you got to take names.
I might die today.
Mike: What happened to your guy?
Robbie: I don't know what dave's doing.
Mike: He went wide.
Go jersey, go! Go, go, go! Robbie: Two laps, two laps!
(mike laughs)
Robbie: Look at dave, look at dave, look at dave!
Mike: Look at dave, he's on top!
Robbie: Ahh! (bleep)!
Mike: Ohh... Jersey, come on, on the inside!
Robbie: He's inside. Mike: He's inside!
He's inside on you! Come on, go, go, go!
(group laughing)
Mike: Dude!
Robbie: Dude!
Mike: Woo! Robbie: Jersey!
(laughs)
Mike: Dang, what happened, man?
Did you see jersey's power slide across the finish line?
Diamond dave: I'm sorry, that was awesome, man.
Mike: Jersey! (laughs)
Jersey jon: Oh my god... Mike: Who are you, man? Who are you?
Robbie: Trying to figure out who the heck you got.
Diamond dave: Oh my god, those corners!
Robbie: Maverick. Jersey jon: Bro.
Diamond dave: That was a good...
Oh (bleep)! We're upright.
Mike: Alright... Now jersey... And robbie.
Robbie: Throwing the gauntlet! Mike: Robbie!
Robbie: Alright, I'm throwing the gauntlet down.
Mike: Okay, it's the italian against the hungarian oak.
Robbie: Hungarian oak. Jersey jon: That's right, man.
Mike: Sergeant rock-head and hungarian oak.
This is the showdown of the century.
Jersey jon: One, two, three.
Ooh... Mike: Ooh...
Jersey jon: One, two, three.
Mike & diamond dave: Ohh!
Jersey jon: One, two, three.
(screaming) jersey jon: Gotcha, (bleep)!
Diamond dave: You can win, you can win.
Robbie: What are you taking?
Mike: Let me get your car over here, jersey.
Jersey jon: Me and sergeant rock-head.
Now we're veteran riders, man.
We know how this track feels, we know what we're up against.
So now we're really gonna get down.
Mike: You're the hungarian oak. Jersey jon: Yeah.
Mike: You gotta feel it down in the roots,
You know what I'm saying? Feel it in your roots.
Jersey jon: Feeling pretty good, bro.
Diamond dave: Don't get on the brake at all, that was--
I used the brake. Don't use the brake.
Diamond dave: Come on, robbie, just get in there.
Robbie: The one thing that I'm really worried about
With jersey is,
I've never raced this kart.
Robbie: What's this thing on my head? God-dang!
Diamond dave: What do you mean? That's the head rest.
Robbie: It's a luge. You're laying down in it.
Mike: Oh that's right, robbie's never driven this one.
(laughs) diamond dave: No, this one's good.
No, this is sticky. It's sticky, you'll be good.
(laughs) mike: You've never driven this one!
Robbie: I'm laying down in a kart?
Uh... I'm not, you know...
I like the blue car, man, it had great power, man.
The steering was very responsive.
I don't know how this thing's going to end up.
Mike: Okay, ready? Diamond dave: Yeah.
(engine starts)
(indistinct chatter)
Mike: Hey, hey, look at me!
(mike laughs)
Mike: There they go!
Diamond dave: You see? Oh, yeah, jersey--
(excited shouting)
Mike: Oh my gosh, it's gonna be a good one, man!
Oh! Jersey got him in the corner!
Diamond dave: Oh he pushed him out, he pushed him out!
Mike: Oh (bleep)!
Diamond dave: Imagine you're racing against the tasmanian devil,
That's basically jon.
'cause he was like a little whirlwind.
Mike: No, jersey's dog-fighting...
Diamond dave: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, see?
(revving)
Mike: Holy (bleep)! Jersey's swinging around.
Diamond dave: Oh, he's got to be on the inside.
Mike: He's got to get on the inside or he's done.
Diamond dave: Robbie! Mike: Oh (bleep)! He got him.
Diamond dave: Well, as long as he can--
Okay, if he stays tight here.
Get on the gas, go! Come on!
Mike: Come on, jersey, come on!
(group cheering, laughing)
Mike: I can't believe that my brother won!
It's like that old saying we've been hearing our whole lives,
The sun shines on every dog's butt...
(laughs) ...Once in his life.
Mike: Agh... Diamond dave: Yes!
(laughs) mike: Buddy, what happened, man? What happened?
Jersey jon: You got me, robbie. Robbie: The gold, baby!
Diamond dave: You got pushed out.
(group laughing, cheering) diamond dave: Oh my goodness.
It was a good effort. Mike: I was rooting for you the whole time!
Robbie: Oh shh... (laughs)
Jersey jon: I let you have that, bro!
Jersey jon: I let you, I felt bad for you, man.
Diamond dave: Oh... (laughs)
Robbie: I said I was gonna be number one.
Mike: Here you go, alright. Champion.
Robbie: Champion. Diamond dave: Yes.
Robbie: I was number one, baby.
Mike: My brother's probably thinking this is going
To launch his racing career.
Mike: He's going straight to nascar.